1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to toy rockets, and more particularly to a two-stage toy rocket and spring-loaded launcher assembly adapted to propel the first stage of the rocket into space.
2. Status of Prior Art
A conventional rocket is a vehicle propelled by the ejection of gases resulting from the combustion of self-contained propellants. The force acting on a rocket to propel it into space is referred to as the thrust force. The first rocket is believed to have been invented by the Chinese as early as 1000 A.D., this being formed by bamboo tubing having gun powder stuffed therein.
The major figure in American rocket development is Robert Goddard who in 1926 launched the first liquid fueled rocket. Although early forms of rockets had only one stage, it was later recognized that a single stage rocket was incapable of reaching the Earth's escape velocity. This led to the development of multi-stage rockets, such as the two-stage Atlas and the three stage Centaur capable of exploring outer space. In a multiple stage rocket, two or more rockets are assembled in tandem. These are ignited in turn, so that when the fuel in the lowermost stage is exhausted, it is then detached and falls back to Earth while the fueled next stage continues its flight.
Because children have always been fascinated by rockets, attempts were made to provide children with toy rockets. Early forms of toy rockets used a gas propellant produced by mixing water with reactive chemicals. By reason of the chemicals involved, these toy rockets were not hazard-free and such rockets were withdrawn from the market.
In order to avoid the use of gas propellants, toy rockets were later developed making use of a spring which when compressed and then released applied a thrust force to the rocket. But spring-loaded launchers for toy rockets afforded relatively weak thrust forces. The reason for this is that the physical strength demanded to adequately compress a heavy spring and thereby produce a powerful thrust force is a strength lacking in most children.
If therefore a child is provided with a spring-loaded launcher for a toy rocket and is required to compress this spring by directly applying pressure thereto, he may be unable to adequately compress this spring to produce a strong thrust force when the spring is released. The toy rocket is therefore unable to fly more than a short distance, and its performance is unimpressive.